THE LONDON MASTABA

The London Mastaba is Christo’s latest installation, a temporary sculpture in Hyde Park, London, Serpentine Lake, 2016-18. This is Christo’s first major public work in the UK, it coincides with an exhibition at the Serpentine Galleries of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s work (June 19 to September 9, 2018). The sculpture will float on the Serpentine Lake from June 18 to September 23, 2018.

The temporary sculpture in Hyde Park consists of 7,506 horizontally stacked barrels on a floating platform in the Serpentine Lake. It is 20 meters high x 30 meters wide (at the 60° slanted walls) x 40 meters long. The standard 55 gallon barrels, 59 x 88 cm, have been specifically fabricated and painted for this sculpture. The sides of the barrels, visible on the top and on the two slanted walls of the sculpture, are painted red and white. The ends of the barrels, visible on the two vertical walls, are different hues of red, blue, and mauve.

The sculpture’s floating platform is being made of high-density polyethylene cubes anchored to the lakebed with weighted anchors. A primary steel scaffolding frame was constructed on top of the platform and the barrels are attached to a scaffold sub structure. The total weight is 600 metric tons. The footprint of the sculpture takes up approximately 1% of the total surface area of the lake. As with all of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s projects, The London Mastaba is being funded entirely through the sale of Christo’s original works of art. No public money is used for Christo’s projects and he does not accept sponsorship.

 

Photo by André Grossmann and Wolfgang Volz

All Rights reserved to Christo and Jeanne-Claude

Back to Top